On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released their report on what would happen if the Affordable Care Act repeal bill passes – and it’s horrifying. Under the proposed plan, 14 million people will lose their health insurance by next year. Over the next 10 years, that number grows to 24 million people. The House is voting on this bill as early as THURSDAY – and we need your help to stop them. Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to vote NO on ACA repeal. You can call over the weekend and leave a message, or make plans to call during the week.
As if those numbers weren’t bad enough, the CBO report estimates that Medicaid would lose $880 billion in funding, destroying Medicaid as we know it. Meanwhile, the bill includes $883 billion in tax cuts for the wealthiest 10% of Americans. Here’s what the average person with a disability would get:
- An average tax cut of $0
- Insurance will be harder to buy, and insurance companies will be allowed to charge more money for worse health coverage
- 24 million Americans will lose health insurance by 2026
- Huge slashes to funding for services people with disabilities rely on every day
A plan that takes away coverage from 24 million people is not a replacement for the ACA.
There’s no time to waste. Some members of Congress are starting to express concerns about this bill after hearing from you. We need to keep the pressure up and make sure this isn’t just empty talk. You can find contact information for your members of Congress here. Call your Senators and Representative and tell them to vote NO on ACA repeal.
P.S. – ASAN’s new plain-language toolkit They Work For Us: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Getting Through to your Elected Officials includes strategies, scripts, and templates to help you effectively communicate with your elected officials. We also have a separate factsheet on How to Call Your Elected Officials, which has information about how to participate in call-ins if you have phone anxiety or don’t speak.